UK weather: Record number of rough sleepers reported in 24 hours as big freeze grips Britain

A record number of rough sleepers were referred to a specialist helpline by the public as “overstretched” charities struggled to cope with unprecedented demand as a big freeze gripped the UK.

More than 2,000 referrals were made in London to the StreetLink app, which connects the homeless to local services, between Monday and Tuesday morning.

Nationwide 3,600 people were reported as sleeping on the streets as snow blanketed the UK and temperatures plummeted as low as minus 10C.

The charity, which sends crisis teams to help the homeless, described the public’s response as “overwhelming” as shelters across the capital battled to keep people off the streets.

A spokeswoman told the Standard that “overstretched” crisis teams struggled to cope as the number of alerts exceeded the number of beds available in London.

She said: “The crisis teams are obviously stretched. Where long-term hostels are full, the teams are working to find spaces in emergency shelters through agencies like St Mungo’s and individual borough councils.

“Where there isn’t accommodation teams support people to find the right help and ensure they are visiting day centres.”

A record number of homeless people on the UK’s streets have been reported in 24 hours (Getty Images)

Jon Sparkes chief executive of national homelessness charity Crisis said the huge increase in reports of rough sleepers was “a devastating indication of just how many people are being forced to sleep out in potentially deadly situations”.

London’s homeless outreach services will be operating under severe weather emergency protocol (SWEP), which is activated when temperatures drop below a certain level for three days running.